Navicular bone fracture

rapidranger13 said:I'm not totally sure right now since I don't have the paperwork in front of me, so I can't really check😢((
ugh, I'm gonna lose my mind waiting... I actually want to get back to work instead of being stuck in physical therapy sessions all day...😢((( I'm heading in tomorrow so I'll know then.... ugh, I'm just so nervous...

What are you even scared of? Worst case scenario, you're just stuck in a cast for a few more weeks. Fingers crossed for you!

ruggedtiger63 said:What's there to be afraid of? Worst case scenario, you're stuck in a cast for a few more weeks. Fingers crossed for you...

Honestly, my real fear is getting stuck in an endless loop of physical therapy sessions... 😢(I just want to get back to work, seriously 🙂)
and I just want to be out of here—you know, just living life again... eating a good deli roll, going for a swim, riding my bike... 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂 thanks... tomorrow is the big day.

Hey there,
I took a hit to my left wrist during a soccer game. A ball slammed right into my palm and I felt it immediately. I didn't see a doctor at the time—just figured it would pass—but it never did. This all went down back in August 2008. It wasn't until April 2009, when the stiffness became unbearable, that I finally went to see a doctor. Turns out, I had a fractured scaphoid that never properly healed. My surgeon was actually shocked I’d managed to deal with the pain for so long! He mentioned surgery might be the only way to fix things, though he noted it comes with risks. I went back for a follow-up about two or three weeks later, and he thought things looked slightly better since the stiffness had eased up a bit, so he sent me to physical therapy. Honestly? Not much has changed. I can move my wrist down, left, or right just fine, but upward motion is extremely limited. Plus, I can't put any weight on my left hand at all.
About a month ago, I started feeling this tingling sensation near my pinky, which I suspect is linked to that unhealed fracture. I'm currently in physical therapy right now.
Do you think surgery would actually improve my range of motion, and what kind of risks am I looking at?
Thanks in advance!

My brother broke his arm about a month and a half ago. He went in for X-rays the second day, got a splint, and then a cast a week later.
The diagnosis was some kind of mid-shaft scaphoid fracture. They put him in a closed cast for the navicular bone, but when he went in today to get it removed, the doctor looked at the scan and said it isn't healing right. Apparently, the bone looks "drying out" on the image. So, they put him back in a cast for another four weeks. After that, he’ll need more X-rays and maybe an MRI to see what's actually going on.
Can anyone tell me what "drying out" actually means in this context? What are the next steps, what should he expect, and what kind of long-term issues are we looking at?

Sophia Hernandez said:My brother broke his wrist about a month and a half ago. He went for X-rays the next day, got a splint, then a cast a week later.
The diagnosis was some kind of "mid-shaft scaphoid fracture." They put him in a closed cast for the navicular bone, but when he went to get it removed today, the doctor looked at the X-ray and said it wasn't healing great. Basically, the doctor used the term "drying out." So now he’s back in a cast for another 4 weeks, and after that, they'll do more X-rays and maybe an MRI if they need to see what's actually going on.
Can anyone tell me what that "drying out" thing means? What happens next, what should he expect, and what kind of long-term issues are we looking at?

So, the scaphoid (that navicular bone) is one of those eight little bones in your wrist. The big issue is that it doesn't have great blood flow, which is why fractures there take forever to heal. Usually, you're looking at 8 to 12 weeks of immobilization for a mid-shaft scaphoid break, so honestly, your brother's wrist hasn't even had enough time to knit back together yet...

Sophia Hernandez said:My brother broke his wrist about a month and a half ago. He went in for X-rays the next day, got a splint, and then a cast a week later.
The diagnosis was some kind of mid-shaft scaphoid fracture. They put him in a closed cast for the navicular bone, but when he went to get the cast removed today, the doctor looked at the imaging and said it wasn't healing well. He used the term "non-union," essentially saying the bone isn't knitting together properly. They put him back in a cast for another four weeks, after which he'll need more X-rays and potentially an MRI to see what's actually going on.
Can anyone explain what this lack of healing means? What are the next steps, what should he expect, and what are the potential long-term consequences?

The tricky part is that those bones are quite small and oddly shaped, making them very difficult to immobilize effectively. When they talk about the bone "drying up" or not healing, they are likely referring to insufficient callus formation—which is the new bone tissue that's supposed to bridge the fracture site.

Look, it’s clearly way too soon for everything to be fully healed. Honestly, it was kind of a rookie move by my doctor not to mention I'd be stuck in this cast for a longer stretch.
But this whole drying sensation still feels ominous to me. Is it actually drying out? And what happens if the bone itself dries up? Can anyone give me some more detail on this—either here or via DM?
On top of that, yesterday they gave me a diagnosis: early signs of avascular necrosis.

Thanks.

So, here’s my story—I’m 13, and I managed to break my navicular bone just from a totally random fall. I basically tripped over my own feet and wiped out, and honestly? It didn't even hurt right when it happened. No swelling, nothing. But then, about three hours later, the pain kicked in and the swelling started, and oh man, it was brutal. I was literally screaming. I went to see a doctor who basically brushed it off, told me it was fine, but gave me a splint anyway. Fast forward seven days to my follow-up to get the splint off, and my foot looked absolutely horrific—just bruised, blue, yellow, the whole nine yards. Then I saw a second doctor who actually realized I had a fracture and slapped a cast on me for another five weeks. Weirdly enough, I wasn't even feeling much pain during that stretch, so after those five weeks were up, I went back for another checkup and they put me in a cast for *another* four weeks. That was easily the worst part because I had all these sports plans lined up. After four more weeks, the doctor finally took the cast off and told me to just wear a compression wrap, use some specific gel he recommended, and hit up physical therapy. I did seven days of PT, then went back to see the surgeon, who told me I needed more physical therapy sessions before coming back to see him in six weeks. Once I finished the exercises, the therapist said I was good to go. I have an appointment with the surgeon tomorrow, and I'm really hoping everything turns out okay. He already dropped the bombshell that I should probably never play volleyball again, which was a total gut punch to deal with. He also told me to stay away from any physical activity, but I’ve actually been playing basketball every single day lately and haven't felt any pain at all. In fact, I think I only got full sensation back in my foot about a week ago. So yeah, that's the situation. Just crossing my fingers that everything goes smoothly with the surgeon tomorrow. 🙂

bluemason58 said:So, okay, here’s my deal. I’m 13 and I actually broke my navicular bone just from a totally random fall. I basically tripped over my own feet and wiped out. It didn't even hurt right when it happened—no swelling, nothing. But three hours later? Total nightmare. The pain kicked in and it started swelling up like crazy. Honestly, it was brutal, I was literally screaming. My first doctor told me it was nothing and just threw a splint on me. Then, seven days later, I went back to get the splint off and my arm looked awful... just blue and yellow everywhere. This second doctor finally realized I actually broke the bone and put me in a cast for five more weeks. The weird part? I didn't even feel much pain during that time. After those five weeks, I had another checkup and they stuck me in a cast for *another* four weeks. That was the worst part because I had all these sports plans lined up. Eventually, the doctor took the cast off and told me to just wear a compression wrap, use some specific gel, and hit up physical therapy. I did PT for seven days, then saw the surgeon again, who sent me back to PT before seeing him one last time in six weeks. Once I finished the exercises, the therapist said I was good to go. I have to see the surgeon tomorrow, so fingers crossed everything goes smoothly. He already dropped the bomb that I can never play volleyball again, which seriously sucked to hear. He also said to stop all physical activity with my arm, but honestly, I’ve been playing basketball every single day lately and it hasn't hurt at all. I think I finally got full sensation back in my arm about a week ago. So yeah, that's the saga. Just hoping for good news from the surgeon tomorrow. 🙂

How did the doctor visit go?

Here’s my experience: After the fall, I didn't sleep a wink all night. When I showed up at the ER the next morning, the surgeon told me nothing was broken—but they decided to put me in a splint for seven days just to be safe. At the follow-up a week later, the doctor looked at a new X-ray and confirmed it was actually a navicular fracture. I ended up in a cast that went all the way up to my elbow, immobilizing my thumb and index finger too. They also prescribed magnet therapy alongside everything else to speed up the healing process. After five weeks and one day—which brings the total immobilization to 43 days—the X-rays look good, and the cast finally came off.

Now comes phase two: rehab for this busted joint. It’s going to be painful, but I’m hoping for the best...

I ended up fracturing my navicular bone and spent about seven or eight weeks in a cast. My surgeon reviewed the imaging, checked my hand, and kept asking if I was in pain, though I told him I wasn't feeling much of anything. He eventually referred me to physical therapy and suggested I come back for a follow-up in a month.

I initially tried going to the physical therapy clinic at my local community health center, but honestly, it felt like nobody there really cared about their patients, so I just quit and tried doing some exercises on my own at home. I suppose I lost momentum pretty quickly and didn't stay consistent with them... Now, two months after being out of the cast, my hand still doesn't have the functionality it used to, so I've started back up with some strengthening and stretching routines. I can't help but worry, though—maybe the bone didn't set properly or shifted again, which might be why my motor skills and strength haven't returned to normal after all this time.

My specific questions are:

How long does it typically take for the hand to get back to its pre-injury state, or am I perhaps panicking for no reason?
Also, I occasionally hear a clicking sound while I'm exercising; I wonder what that might signify...

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brightheron14 said:I ended up breaking my navicular bone and spent about seven or eight weeks stuck in a cast. My surgeon looked over the X-rays, gave my hand a little squeeze to check the pain levels, and when I told him it didn't hurt, he just sent me off to physical therapy and told me to swing back for a follow-up in a month.

So, I tried going to the PT at the local community clinic, but honestly, it felt like nobody there actually cared about the patients, so I just bailed. I started trying to do some exercises on my own at home, but unfortunately, I lost steam pretty fast and wasn't really consistent... Now, it’s been two months since they took the cast off, and my hand still doesn't have the same function it used to, so I've started getting back into the strengthening and stretching routines. I'm also starting to get a bit worried—like, maybe the bone didn't knit back together properly? Maybe that’s why my hand still lacks its old motor skills and strength even after all this time.

My specific questions are:

How long does it usually take after an injury like this for things to get back to normal, or am I just panicking for no reason?
Also, when I'm working out, I hear this clicking sound every now and then; what could that be about?

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You're hearing "clicking"? 🤔

Could be pseudoarthrosis.
Get a follow-up X-ray, see a serious orthopedic specialist, or find a physiatrist who specializes in sports injuries.

velvetmoose9 said:Are you hearing some kind of "clicking" sound?🤔

Could it be a nonunion?
Maybe get a follow-up X-ray and seek out a top-tier orthopedic surgeon or a physiatrist who specializes in sports injuries.

I suppose you were right; that’s exactly what happened, though it took four months after my initial post for those doctors to finally figure it out, and now I’m looking at surgery. It was frustrating because I went to all my appointments and had all the imaging done, yet no one seemed to catch it until I sought a second opinion privately. To make matters worse, they removed my cast far too early, so I ended up tearing away whatever little healing had actually occurred during physical therapy and stretching exercises.

brightheron14 said:You hit the nail on the head, man. That’s exactly what happened, except it took them four whole months after I posted this for those idiots to finally figure it out. Now I'm looking at surgery. The worst part is, I was playing by the rules—showing up to every single follow-up, getting all the scans done—and not one of those doctors caught it until I went out to see a specialist privately. To top it all off, they pulled my cast off way too early, so every time I tried doing my physical therapy or stretching, I was basically just tearing away whatever little healing had actually happened.

Man, I am so sorry to hear that, 😢

I know it doesn't fix anything, but honestly, these kinds of injuries get overlooked way more often than you'd think, even by seasoned trauma surgeons and ortho specialists.

Do me a favor and get at least two different opinions before you commit to the surgery 🧐

Keep us posted on how things go 😉